Buckaroos, this is Ken Maynard in the tack room of the Diamond Cave.
And that was my famous movie Horst Harsin,
working his head out to say hello to all you riding pals.
I've been spinning yarns for quite a spell now about buried treasure and stuff.
So today I thought I'd tell a different sort of a story.
Makes me chuckle every time I think about that fellow. Yankee Dan was his name.
Not his given name, but that's what everybody called him. And with good reason, I guess.
I'll tell you more about him after we hear a word or two from my ranch hand, Charlie.
Thanks, Ken.
From the tack room of Ken Maynard's Diamond Cave Ranch, we're bringing you stories of adventure,
stories of circus life, fascinating transcribed tales of the Old West where cowboys still follow the cattle trails,
stories of rodeos and parades, colorful legends of the Red Man, hidden gold and buried treasure.
The exciting tales from the Diamond Cave are told by Hollywood's champion of western stars,
internationally famous Ken Maynard.
Now while Ken is getting ready to spin another breathtaking yarn, and as he said a minute ago,
a different kind of one today, I want to ask you buckaroos a question.
Have you ever just held your breath, closed your eyes and crossed your fingers when you've dropped
one of mother's or dad's favorite phonograph records? Boy, that's a breathtaking moment,
I'll tell you. But now if you have your very own phonograph records to play,
why you won't want to borrow your folks and you won't have to worry about breaking your records
if you have a Diamond Cave record album of stories by Ken Maynard, and here's why.
The Diamond Cave records are absolutely unbreakable. Yes sir, they're made of expensive
vinylite that won't break like regular records, and they play so smoothly it's just like hearing
Ken and Tarzan in person write in your own living room, especially when Ken says hello to you and
calls you by name right on the record. Isn't it amazing that you can get this Diamond Cave record
album with two complete stories of the Wild West and pictures of Ken and Tarzan and the story about
Ken and the Diamond Cave on the records and the albums all this for only one dollar? Don't forget
buckaroos, Ken will say hello personally to you on the record and call you by name like,
hello Irene, or hi Izzy, or whatever your name is, so the album will be especially yours.
Just send your name and address and the one dollar bill to records in care of this station.
Be sure to include your name buckaroos so Ken can call you by name. Now if you want the album
sent to a friend, send your friend's name too, but do it today. Now here's Ken. Now to Yankee Dan.
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona were sort of El Dorado's stage. You remember I talked about
that one time? El Dorado is sort of a general term I use for the lure of sudden wealth.
Well, the Pecos country in particular has been given wide publicity. It's amazing how those
stories get around, but well come to think of it I'm certainly doing my bit to spread the information.
Anyway one day in the town of Pecos itself a stage came bouncing out of the haze of the
Ticolati Mountains and came too fast breaking stop in the usual cloud of dust. The driver always had
a powerful thirst. For that reason he used to make the fastest stage run of all the line.
Well the townspeople in Pecos, like any other place, had the habit of being around when the
stage got in. It was right neighborly and they wanted to see who was coming to visit their town.
There was always mail to collect and so on, but this particular driver always made it hard for him.
For by the time the cloud of dust he'd stirred up and cleared away most of the arrivals were
already in the hotel or at the local bar. Now that's why all those rough umberries,
confidence men, those who didn't particularly want to be seen and had no other way of traveling,
liked to ride with this particular driver. They were able to get themselves stashed away
in the bar or the hotel before the sheriff could get a look at them.
Well on this particular stage the only passengers were three men,
Duke Morrison and his partner and a rather funny looking fellow we'll tell you more about later.
Duke Morrison had a very special reason for being particular who saw him. He was a right
smart looking character with one of them black mustaches and long frock coats like you sometimes
see the villain were in westerns. He was a slick talker and as was expected the local bells always
went for him, but it was never clear whether they went for his looks or the money that he always
seemed to have plenty of. His partner, Duke's man they called him, was a combination personal
servant and assistant. He even talked with an English accent and all that. Well as you might
expect the Duke was a confidence man. One of those characters who used his wits to relieve others of
their hard-earned money through the most handy scheme he happened to think of at that particular
moment. That depended on the individual and Duke Morrison certainly knew character possibly because
he was one himself. Now the third fellow who got off that stage at Pecos was a distinguished
looking chap himself in a different sort of a way. He was small, wore expensive clothes and good taste
with a Boston label. Duke noticed that first thing and he had fine features too. A little on
the hawkish side he signed his name on the register there in the hotel as Daniel J. Nickerson Esquire,
Boston, Massachusetts. I suppose if he'd wanted to go in more particulars he would have added
Beacon Hill for he was a blue blood all right. You could tell that by the umbrella he always
carried because Beacon Hill is to Boston what Park Avenue is to New York only a little more so.
Now Daniel J. Nickerson Esquire is just the handle a fellow's likely to choke on so we'll just call
him Yankee Dan like everybody else did. Duke Morrison led him into the hotel very politely,
even had his men carrying his luggies and then Duke hung around to have a look at the register
to check up on the name to see if he really did come from Boston. Then with a peculiar smile on
his lips and resetting that curl his black mustache the duke sorted into the saloon to size up the
situation at the Pecos Palace. How about it folks are you enjoying your visit today to Diamond Cay?
Well I'll get along with the story in just a minute but I want to talk a bit about the Diamond
Cay brand for a minute. You know I've had my brand since I first started on the rodeos and it's
traveled me all over this country and Europe with the circus to Hollywood for movies and down the
jungles of Yucatan hunting for lost cities so naturally I'm kind of fond of that brand and I'm
proud to know so many of you young folks have joined the Diamond Cay by wearing a cay shirt like mine.
The cay shirt like I told you is a trim looking cotton shirt in a desert sand color with a big
red Diamond Cay brand on the front that was made especially for me. Has my picture and tarz's on the
front too. I talked the fellow into making up some in buckaroo sizes to fit my young friends
so if you want to join the Diamond Cay outfit by wearing a cay shirt just send me your name and
address and what size you wear like a 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 and send along a dollar bill for the
fellow who makes the cay shirts. Ask mom your size she'll know then send me your name and address
and the dollar to cay shirt and care of this station and yours will be mailed out right away.
Hostlies prepaid pretty easy way to get a new shirt I'd say well to get back their story there
was only one place in town to eat and Duke Morrison saw to it that he was there at chow time
but he was on his third cup of coffee before Yankee Dan showed up he wasn't full dress a tiff
collar tie and everything because folks on Beacon Hill wouldn't think of dining without dressing for
it it even made Duke self-conscious for he had the reputation of being a sharp dresser himself.
Well the Duke made out he was just finishing his own dinner and he was just casually walking by
Yankee Dan's table he looked surprised and said hello of course Yankee Dan being loaded with
manners invited him to join him for dinner or at least a cup of coffee and a cigar seeing it
already had eaten Duke sort of whisked at the coffee you remember he'd had three cups already
but a real event of cigar sighted count attempting now we know buckaroos don't we that he would have
sat out that table even without being asked because he wanted to do some talking with Yankee Dan and
talk he did for the Duke was a fast talker seems Yankee Dan had been a banker or something in
Boston at least that's the impression the Duke got while they were talking on the stage but Dan
always had an itchy foot and finally decided before it was too late he was going out to see
some of the country for himself he'd always been interested in the southwest and seemed to know a
lot about buried treasure and lost minds that were reputed to be thereabouts well if the Duke ever
saw an easy mark Yankee Dan was in almost seemed too easy Duke thought the most likely scheme to
use on this gentleman from Boston was the old standby that worked for him so many times so he
sent his handyman out to get title to an old mine no one would even throw a rock in it it was that
worked out and said about the easy job of convincing Yankee Dan that he the Duke that is had come to
town to get rid of some of his holdings and so he let Yankee Dan have the mine dirt cheap
that it was a good investment he could see for himself or to sense the matter they'd have an
impartial mining expert give his opinion on the possibilities of course the Duke had everything
all arranged he'd sent his man out to salt the mine you know what that is buckaroos they take
some gold dust and small nuggets and stuff them in the muzzle of a gun and then shoot the stuff
right into the rock at some convenient place in the mine it looked right convincing then the Duke
had no trouble and get that old pal of his to pose as a mining expert and if all this wasn't enough
he even arranged for Yankee Dan to get into conversation with an old Indian just drunk enough
to spill the information that that particular mine was really the hidden source of the gold of
Montezuma well Yankee Dan he just went for it hooked line and sicker he's been reading a lot of
adventure books you know he just couldn't wait to get the paper signed to give the Duke ten thousand
dollars in currency mighty considerable and then the Duke chance to run into the old Indian the one
he had paid to tell Yankee Dan a cock and bull story and he managed to shake out of him the
surprising news that it was the truth the Indians did believe the mine was a source of Montezuma's
wealth well sir the Duke liked to have gone crazy he made a deal with a fellow at the essay
in Ricardo's office they called Yankee Dan and tell him that there'd been a mistake on his papers
that they weren't legal and so he didn't own the mine at all and here was his money back and just
to show you what a good fellow the Duke was he doubled what he'd paid for it just for the
inconvenience well Yankee Dan put up some very strong arguments and he was very angry so the Duke
gave him thirty thousand a Duke surely breathed a sigh of relief when the mine had been signed
back to him and it made Yankee Dan feel they might better when he told him he might buy another of
his holdings near Albuquerque well buckaroos that was the last folks there about solve Yankee Dan
until his picture bobbed up on the signpost outside the sheriff's office there he was big as life with
a full description umbrella and all wanted confidence man Daniel J Nickerson known as Yankee
Dan in fact the deputy was just bringing in Duke Morrison when the sheriff was tacking up the side
with his pistol but seems the Duke had killed the old Indian for double crossing him and taking the
money from Yankee Dan to tell him a cock and bull story about the hidden gold of Montezuma
well say if that isn't a real Wild West story I never heard one Ken I enjoyed every minute of it
how about you buckaroos would you like to hear Ken tell another story well unfortunately Ken hasn't
time for another one right now but I'll tell you how you can hear a Ken Maynard story anytime you
want it's by having a Diamond K record album of course of real Wild West tales just like the one
you heard today now this album is really a humdinger with beautiful color pictures of Ken and
Tarzan on the front and on the back too and a story of Ken and inside there are more pictures
of Ken and Tarzan too why you get two complete Ken Maynard stories in this album and here's the
best part the records are personalized the first thing you'll hear when you play your Diamond K
record album is Ken saying hello to you personally right on the record and calling you by name for
instance if your name is Paul Ken will say hello Paul this is Ken Maynard with a story just for you
and all you have to do is send your name to Ken Maynard just send your name and address and a
dollar bill to records in care of this radio station and Ken will see that you get a copy of
Ken and Ken will see that you get a personalized record album by return mail now at standard 78
rpm speed for the regular kind of record player folks have used for years these are big eight inch
unbreakable pure vinylite records made of the best quality material money can buy and you can play
them over and over and over again so if you want to get in on some real western fun with a story
album that you can play any time you want or if you want one for a gift for a friend or somebody
in a hospital just send a friend's name too and your name and address and a dollar to records in
care of this station but do it today now once again here's Ken well folks it's time to bring
our story round up to a close this is Ken Maynard in Tarzan closing up the tack room at the Diamond
K Ranch till I see you next time when I'll tell you the story about the adventure at mud creek
we'll be looking for you and in the meantime get your one dollar bills in the mail now for some
real western fun so long you've been listening to tales from the Diamond K stories of adventure
told by Ken Maynard and a nationally famous cowboy and Hollywood's champion of western stars we hope
you're one of the regular visitors to Ken's tack room you know the door is always open here at the
Diamond K Ranch every weekday invite your friends to come along for a trip into the adventures of
the wild wild west and we bet that mom and dad will enjoy these stories too you know Ken is a real
riding rope and shooting cowboy who's traveled all over the world looking for excitement and
lost treasure starring in circuses and rodeos and motion pictures and he's just chock full of
rootin tootin stories tales from the Diamond K was transcribed and produced in Hollywood